Best of Northside Food & Wine 2008
Best reasons to get outta town Wine Country
(besides the French Laundry)
By Susan Dyer Reynolds


Ubuntu
1140 Main Street, Napa, 707-251-5656, www.ubuntunapa.com
Chef Jeremy Fox honed his skills in some great kitchens, including Rubicon, Charles Nob Hill, and one of the world’s best restaurants, Manresa. He and his pastry chef wife, Deani Fox, have taken eating vegetables to a whole new level and the restaurant world by storm. Ubuntu’s biodynamically farmed gardens are the inspiration for a daily-harvested menu that features dishes like the signature cauliflower three ways (roasted, pureed and raw). This is the ultimate farm-to-table experience.

Terra
1345 Railroad Avenue, St. Helena, 707-963-8931, www.terrarestaurant.com
From chef couple Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani, Terra was the inspiration for their acclaimed San Francisco venture, Ame (though I think Terra is worth the extra drive). The cuisine is a creative combination of Italian sensibility and Asian exotica, a blend of comfort food and technique – dishes range from foie gras tortelloni in game sauce with sweet corn and corn “truffle,” to sautéed abalone in escargot butter with king trumpet mushrooms and snap peas, to broiled sake-marinated black cod and shrimp dumplings in shiso broth.

Ad Hoc
6476 Washington Street, Yountville, 707-944-2487, www.adhocrestaurant.com
It’s tough to mention Wine Country and not get Thomas Keller in there somehow. His original intent for the building was a hamburger place – an upscale version of In-N-Out, a company he admires (and a burger he loves). While working on the design, he and his team decided to experiment by opening a temporary restaurant (Ad Hoc literally means “for this purpose”) serving a coursed family-style menu. Patrons adored it, and Ad Hoc found its purpose, permanently. They post the menu on the Web site by 2 p.m. and it changes daily. Never mind wine country – the buttermilk fried chicken is worth a drive to the end of the earth.

Hana
101 Golf Course Drive, Rohnert Park (in Doubletree Plaza), 707-586-0270, www.hanajapanese.com
When a friend from Santa Rosa took me to a strip mall for sushi, I was worried, but one sip of chef-owner Ken Tominaga’s foie gras wonton soup and I was hooked. Order Tominaga’s omakase (“chef’s choice”) and settle in for a delicious ride. This is not your ordinary Japanese restaurant – specialties include sake-braised Kurobuta pork belly with soft-boiled egg; unagi and foie gras with kabayaki sauce and balsamic reduction; whiting fish tempura with tea salt; and wafu New York steak, broiled in tangy sauce and served sliced and sizzling on a Mt. Fuji stone. The selection of sushi and sashimi is always sparkling fresh. Try the sushi omakase of seasonal fish from Tukiji, Japan.

Andie’s Cafe
1042 Freeway Drive, Napa, 707-259-1107
Don’t let the outlet mall/car wash proximity drive you away – Napa folks know this unassuming spot for having some of the best burgers in town. Go with the Andie’s burger: one-third pound of freshly ground chuck with classic “fixins” (mayo, mustard, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and red onion) served on a toasted bun with mushrooms, grilled onions, garlic sauce, avocado, and jack cheese.

– S. D. Reynolds